Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
by Venomous Queen
Summary: Cronus is the oldest person at the Orphanage, but is soon adopted by no other that The Condescension. He learns some secrets of himself that he should have never been told... (HUMANS OK. HUMANSSS)
1. Preview

Cronus woke up, looking around the deserted bedroom. He flung off the covers and got on his robe with imprints of fish on them, and walked down the stairs to be greeted with the younger kids at the orphanage in which he lived at. He was the oldest child that still lived there, and he played with younger kids most of the time. The one girl that was relevantly close to his age was Ramona. She was a bit on the goth side. Nose piercings and everything, she even had the makeup to match. He didn't talk to her often, but if you showed her such an amount of tenderness, she would talk to you as if you were her greatest friend, even though she never has had any friends. Cronus walked past the owner, who was like his mother to him and everyone else, Miss Christine.

"Good morning, Cronus." She said brightly, handing Cronus a plate of hash browns. "Hey doll." He replied, taking the plate of food to the table. He sat down on the bench next to a seventh grader already dressed and ready to go to school. Cronus just laughed and shoved his breakfast into his mouth, disregarding the strange stares he was given by the younger children.

"Hey, I hafta go to school at some point, don't I?" He remarked as he ran up the stairs. He got dressed for school with his normal jeans and t-shirt, and ran back down the stairs.

"Cronus, did you brush your hair? Brush your teeth?" Cronus froze mid jog and tripped, hearing some of the kids giggle as they watched him. "Not exactly…?" He replied with a chuckle, and quickly ran back up the stairs, shoving his books into his bag, and doing everything else he forgot to do before. Once again, he ran back down the stairs, slipping on his leather motorcycle boots and running out the door to catch up with the bus. Miss Christine stared out the kitchen window and laughed, watching as Cronus tripped a few times over his own feet.

"What am I going to do with you?" She grinned, and sat down at the table with her own breakfast.

...

_Cronus: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea_


	2. Chapter 1

Cronus ran out of the bus once it came to a halt at the school entry way. He caught up with his friends, Nathan and Blake.

"Dude! You were trippin' all over the place this mornin'!"

Blake asked, slapping Cronus' back forcefully to the point where he stumbled forward a bit, making Nathan bellow loudly.

"Hey, I was tryin' to catch up to th' bus, cool cat!"

"But you do it like, EVERY day!" Nathan barged in as the three walked into the school doors, heading to their lockers which were right next to each other.

"Excuses, I tell you!" Blake shouted and laughed, as Cronus slapped his shoulder.

"Shut up, man! It's not a crisis or anythin'! It's not like I ha'e th' FBI chasin' after me for it!"

The bell rang as they finished up getting their books and walked to class. They're usual joking routine went on like this for the remainder of the day, and before they knew it, the school day was over. The final bell rang as they were in Science class, and the three of them rushed to their lockers.

"Dude, isn't the orphanage LAME after a while?"

"I guess, I mean, It's not like I'm e'er gon' be adopted."

"Probably someone with like mental issues." Blake barged in, making the three of them laugh.

"Good one, cool cat." Cronus snickered, grabbing his backpack and flinging it onto his shoulder. He ran out to the bus loop and got onto the bus to go back to the orphanage, or in everyone else's case, home. Cronus sat down next to Blake, and they talked until the bus stopped in front of the orphanage.

"Let's hope you get adopted!" Blake shouted, and everyone cheered suddenly. Cronus, as he stood up to leave, laughed.

"Yeah yeah." He replied, and hopped off the bus. He opened the door, as it was unlocked for him, and sat down at the table as he always did. Miss Christie always had something to tell him.

"Hello, Cronus. How was your day at school?" She asked as she sat a glass of pink lemonade in front of him. He took a sip and replied, "The usual y'know." She smiled and rubbed his shoulder. "I have some good news~" She sang as she handed Cronus a signed envelope to him specifically. "I never knew that… Ampora was your last name…" Miss Christie confessed as she watched Cronus eye the envelope suspiciously. "'Ell, I don't think they 'oulda gi'en a guess, 'ould they?" He ripped open the envelope and read the letter. "Read it out loud." Miss Christie requested, and he did so.

"'Dear Cronus, I am kno'n as the Condescension, and I am here to ask you if you 'ould prefer me to adopt you. Sincerely, Condescension.' Is this lady serious?" Cronus asked, looking up at Miss Christie's gleaming smile. She nodded, and Cronus gasped. "Oh my god." He stood up and watched as she did the same.

"You should pack up! She'll be here to pick you up in an hour!" Cronus laughed and ran up the stairs to pack up his stuff. He shoved everything into his old P.E bag and ran back down the stairs, huffing and puffing. "I got it all." He managed to say. She laughed and looked in the bag.

"Okay, you have everything!" There was a long pause between the two. "Goodness, things are going to be so different with you away… I feel like I've known you since the beginning of my career!"

"'Ell, ya ain't 'rong 'bout that. You pretty much ha'e." He stood at the door with his bag next to him and cell phone in hand.

"You've grown up so much, Cronus. You don't know how compelled I am to see someone finally adopt you. After nineteen years, Cronus. Nineteen! That's… Amazing…" She continued, tears streaming down her cheeks. Cronus walked over to her slowly, putting his phone in his jacket pocket.

"Hey hey, doll. Don't cry. I'm gon' be fine." She hugged him tightly and sobbed harder.

"You don't know, Cronus… How hard it's going to be without you… You are like the light to my day and the dark to my night."

"A'. Those ar' some s'eet 'ords, Miss Christie. But this isn't my choice, someone 'anted me, and they got it." She backed away, wiping her tears with her apron.

"I-I know. But you better get that speech disability fixed!" She laughed, trying to cheer herself up. Cronus chuckled, and walked back to the door,

"Maybe I 'ill, maybe I 'ont." There was a knock at the door, and Cronus jumped. "Is that her?" He asked, as he opened the door. At the door stood a thin lady with probably the world's longest hair. She had a kind smile on her face as she stepped through the doorway.

"Hello, Ma'am. You must be… The Condescension?" Miss Christie asked, holding out her hand. The Condescension grabbed onto it and shook her hand.

"Yeah. But Cronus Ampora may have the honor of calling me Peixes." Cronus looked at her suspiciously, but just waved it off. He picked up his bags and stood next to Peixes.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye, Cronus." Miss Christie said, giving him a little wave. Cronus waved back nervously and followed Peixes out the door.

"Get in the car." She said, shoving him into the front seat after throwing his bag into the back of the car. Cronus yelped and rubbed his arm that bumped into the side of the car. She slammed the door and walked around the car to get to the other side. She flung open the door and sat down, slamming the door shut and turning on the engine.

"To Virginia Beach." She said, and she drove off.


	3. Chapter 2

Once they arrived, Cronus had dozed off, snoring lightly. The Condescension just laughed and carried on with getting out of the car. She grabbed Cronus' stuff and kicked the car door. "Get out here!" She commanded, slapping the window a few times. Cronus jumped and flailed a bit, unbuckling himself and lazily getting out of the car.

"'Hy do you 'ant me any'ay?" Cronus asked, with a bit of a sleepy slur.

"I'll explain once you unpack." She replied as she opened the door to a rather fancy looking beach house. Cronus stared at it for a while, and soon ran inside. "Your room is on the left. It's the one painted a dark shade of purple. You'll see it once you get up there." She said, clearing her throat and walking to the kitchen. Cronus walked up the stairs sleepily and looked into the wide room. There was a large bed, and a very fancy closet, with a bathroom as well, that had its own shower and everything.

"….Fancy." He said to himself and walked to the bed where his bag had been placed. He flopped onto the bed and just lied there, staring up at the ceiling. Peixes came in shortly after, sitting down at his feet

"How does it feel?"

"Ho' does 'hat feel?"

"Being away from the orphanage."

"'Ell, it sure is a bit different, but that's 'bout it." He replied.

Peixes grinned and scooted herself onto the bed more, to the point where she was practically sitting in the center.

"I know your father." She spoke up. Cronus' eyes widened, and he turned his head to face her.

"Huh? Ho'? I don't ha'e a father…" He replied, stuttering.

"Of course you do!" She said with a strict shout in her voice. "He abandoned you for a reason, but he is one man, I must say." Cronus looked at her like she was crazy, and looked back up at the sky.

"I hope you're right." There was a long silence between the two and The Condescension stood up.

"Well you oughta get some sleep for school tomorrow, It's late." She said, shutting off the lights. Cronus blinked a few times and sat up.

"This lady is nuts…" He mumbled. Peixes was right, it was late, and he had to get up extra early for school tomorrow, since they lived a bit further away from the school from where the Orphanage was located. He got dressed into his pajamas and hopped into bed, feeling a bit homesick. He rubbed it off as a sign of his weak side showing, and dozed off to sleep, trying to prepare himself for the upcoming school day. The following morning, the sun shone brightly between the wooden blinds, forcing Cronus' eyes open.

"The early sun… 'Hat a sight to see in the mornin'." He walked down the stairs and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter, and ate as much as he could as he got dressed and did what he usually did in the morning. He grabbed his backpack, in which he had shoved into his 'suit case' and noticed Peixes standing at the door, blocking his path.

"'Hat do you 'ant?" She had her eye on Cronus' birthmark on the far left corner of his forehead of the- -

"Dualscar…" Cronus winced as her long fingernail traced itself upon the mark, leaving behind a faded scrape.

"Ooookayyy?" He said, as he walked out the door, closing the door and looking back, rolling his eyes. "Lady's insane." He repeated as he did the night before. He walked to the bus stop and was greeted by Nathan, who just so happened to go to that stop.

"Hey cool cat!" Cronus shouted, giving Nathan a brofist.

"Sup dude? Did you get adopted finally?"

"Haha! Yeah, just yesterday. But dude, I don't kno' if she has mental issues or not, but I think she's comin' onto me…!"

Nathan burst out in laughter. "Isn't that was Blake predicted? Man! You are so spoiled!"

"More like a magnet to elderly ladies." Cronus replied, being sarcastic. The both of them walked onto the bus as it stopped by, sitting down next to Blake.

"See you got adopted." Blake said, scooting over a bit to make room for both Cronus and Nathan.

"Yeah, I 'as just explainin' t'Nathan. Funny story ho' it happened." Cronus replied, repeating the story to Blake. Blake laughed the whole way through, and the story lasted the entire bus ride, which was only about seven to ten minutes. "Woooooow dude, I'm surprised you don't have a boner after all of that!" "Maybe I do." Cronus joked, laughing out loud. The three of them continued on their day, and were cracking jokes all the way until lunch. The bell rang for the end of fourth period, which was the class before lunch. Everyone was flooded in the hall, leaving absolutely no room to walk. The three of them were crammed against their lockers, but continued having their conversation. The noise was broken with a sudden, what sounded like, gun shoot. Some, no, ALL of the girls squealed and pressed themselves up against the lockers. Everyone got down, but Cronus, who was just staring in utter shock. Even Blake and Nathan were down on their knees, whispering,

"Get down, man!" Cronus didn't listen. The two terrorists walked a bit closer towards him, the one loading up his gun.

"If you think you're goin' to shoot me-" Cronus began, but was interrupted with a sudden 'BANG!' of the gun. The bullet pierced right through his eye, coming out of the other side of his skull. Everyone screamed as Cronus fell back, covering his bleeding eye. Blake and Nathan scooted away from him. They thought they would be seeing a ton of blood, but whatever it was wasn't blood, it was violet. Ramona, who was brave enough to move, choked the one terrorist and pointed his own gun at his throat. He began to writhe himself free, but was soon knocked out by a punch in the back, delivered by the principal. The one terrorist fell to the ground, while the other ran off, but was caught by the cops who had chased them all the way down to the school. The principal ran over to Cronus, who had passed out on the floor, violet pouring out of his left eye. The principal gasped in horror and called in the ambulance that followed along with the cops. As the ambulance ran in, students stepped out of their way, as they were holding a large stretcher. Everyone was silent by this point, and only the principal and the ambulance were talking.

"I don't know what this is, is it blood?"

"There's nothing else it can be."

"Take him, fix him, do whatever you can."

"Yes sir."

And with that, they were on their way, dragging away Cronus on the stretcher to the hospital. Apparently, this terrorist attack had been recorded on the news even before they had reached the school. Miss Christie, who always kept tune on the news, heard what had happened, and heard about the young man who had been shot. They did not show any pictures, but she soon found out who it was when Cronus didn't arrive back after the school had been shut down. Ramona had been the only culprit. As Ramona walked into the door to the orphanage, Miss Christie ran up to her, tears in her eyes.

"Please tell me Cronus is alright!"

Ramona was silent, staring at her wide eyed and in fear. "He was shot in the eye, Miss Christie, If you seriously think he's okay, then something must be the matter with you."

Miss Christie gasped. "It was Cronus…" She walked up the stairs, walking into what was once his bedroom, and sulked at the bedside.

"Miss Christie… You can always visit him you know." Ramona spoke up, moving her hair behind her ears.

"It isn't as easy as you think. Cronus isn't mine anymore, he has a family of his own now. I can't just barge in there and claim he's mine. Besides, I have all you to take care of."

Ramona took a few steps towards Miss Christie, dropping her backpack onto the floor. She knelt down next to her, holding her hand, noticing how pale she looked.

"Cronus will never be 'not yours'. He was the one who started your career in the first place, right? Think about where all of us would be right now if it wasn't for him. He will always be yours, Miss Christie."

Miss Christie was silent, but wrapped her arms around Ramona tightly, sobbing. "I love you, honey." Ramona flinched, but soon hugged back nervously.

"You're the best, Miss Christie." Miss Christie pulled away, standing up and walking out of the room.

"I will visit him when I can, Ramona. You can promise that." She stated. Ramona grinned and stood up, grabbing her backpack on the way out.

"You better."

"You can bet your heart on it."


	4. Chapter 3

As Cronus was being dragged to the hospital room at full speed, it seemed like to him as he glanced up, everyone was running away from him, or, at least, making room for him to go by. They quickly took him to the back room, like in one of those dramatic movies where all they show is a hospital. When they forced his eye open, it did not seem to suffer any damage at all, the only place where it really took a hit was near his birthmark of the dual scars, around his left eye, of course. The surgeons, all they did was wrap a bandage over at least half of his head tightly, trying to stop the strange violet colored blood, as well as stitch up the hole left by the bullet. After they had made sure it was tight enough, noticing the violet already starting to be sucked up by the bandage, they dragged him to an open hospital room. A nurse came in as soon as the surgeons left and forcefully woke him up. He rubbed his right eye, feeling the pressure of the bandage making him feel light headed on his left side. The nurse took a small swab and dabbed it around the blood that was still visible under the bandages, and place it in a protective tube. Cronus coughed and twitched as the light cotton tip of the swab rubbed against his bleeding eye. The nurse backed away a bit and smiled at him, a good omen for him, and walked away. Peixes soon walked in, standing near the bedside.

"What a wonderful shade of violet." She began, moving Cronus' hair out of his face slowly, as if examining the wound at a better angle. Cronus glared at her angrily, watching as a devilish smirk grew on her face.

"You planned this, didn't you?"

"Me? Plan the shooting? Oh, no honey! I didn't plan that the terrorist would go that far as to trespass your school."

Cronus blinked a few times, wincing back.

"You're tellin' me that you planned something _else? _And it just so happened to reach the school boundaries? 'HAT IS 'RONG 'ITH YOU?!" He shouted, yanking at Peixes' hair. She slapped Cronus in the face, to where he screeched in pain.

"OUCH!" Peixes pulled her hair away from him, remaining silent. "Imbecile…" She murmured, "Just like your father."

Cronus growled at her, gripping the covers tightly.

"Come on, we're leaving."

Standing up, Peixes slapped the bed, walking over to the door.

"But-"

"You're fiiine. Come on, don't be a wuss."

Cronus stood up after her cautiously, making sure his eye was alright. He followed Peixes out the door, and to the parking lot, where Cronus could see news reporters and trucks galore over by the school in which he was just at. Some people stared at him as he walked out, not knowing why they were staring, but at this point at time, he didn't care. Peixes shoved him into the front seat, sitting herself in the back of the car.

"Drive." She commanded, crossing her legs. Cronus turned around, staring at her with the one eye he had.

"Excuse me? I only ha'e ONE. EYE. Do you seriously think it's safe, or e'en LEGAL for me to dri'e in the condition I'm in NO'?!"

"Well yeah. Go on, move along."

She shooed him off and looked out the window.

"I need the keys."

"Check in the glove compartment."

Cronus opened the glove compartment over on the passenger's side and grabbed the keys, starting up the car. He drove out of the parking lot, no problem, even though he hadn't driven a car in forever.

"Stop by the beach." She said.

"But Peixes, it's ."

She unbuckled herself as they drove by the beach, and stopped the car, driving it to the parking lot, shoving Cronus up against the window, increasing his pain.

"A-Augh!" He grunted, moving his arms out of the way.

Peixes stopped the car in the middle of the parking lot and pulled out the keys.

"There. That wasn't too hard, was it?" She asked sarcastically, noticing the violet blood stained on her window. She slapped Cronus on the shoulder once she saw it, and scolded him.

"Now get out of the car!"

Cronus unbuckled himself and slowly got out of the car, figuring out that the bleeding had stopped. He followed Peixes, who had already walked over onto the sand. He followed her, taking a light stride over the sand. She walked onto a long dock, not too high, but just to the point where you were able to stick your feet into the water. It was very dark out by this point, and the stars looked like drops of golden dew in the sky. The moon shone brightly in the sky, reflecting off the water, giving it a fluorescent glow.

"Cronus…"

She sighed, placing her hand gently on his, making him blush in questioning.

"Huh? 'Hat is it?"

She paused. It seemed as if she just underwent the world's largest mood swing, from demanding, to a sort of comforting and reassuring attitude.

"I want you to go into the water."

"You 'ant me to-"

"Shush! Just do it. You'll see… You'll see why."

Cronus looked at the pity in her eyes, and back down at the water, watching as it crashed up against the wooden poles keeping the dock up. He slowly dipped his foot further into the water a bit hesitantly, and looked down.

"Are you sure?" He asked. She nodded and watched as Cronus slid into the water. As he did so, She got up and walked back to her car.

"He's not gonna wanna come back." She said confidently, starting up the car and driving away. Cronus popped his head out of the water and noticed that Peixes was gone.

"'Hat 'as that?"

He asked, climbing back onto the dock. Goosebumps quickly appeared on his arms and legs, and he immediately began to shiver.

"Dear lord… Guess I'm goin' back to the Orphanage, aren't I?"

He said to himself, running on the sand and to the sidewalk, where he walked all the way back to the Orphanage. He began to sneeze uncontrollably on the way there, and also, he realized that it was roughly two o'clock in the morning. Time sure went by fast! He walked up to the orphanage door, not bothering to retrieve his stuff from Peixes' house, who he still hadn't recognized as his mother yet. As soon as he heard something shatter in the kitchen, he flew open the door, figuring out that he busted the lock.

"Miss Christie!" He shouted in alarm, running over to her, she gasped, and flew her arms over his neck, bringing him close.

"Cronus, what are you doing here, you're supposed to be with Peixes or whatever she wanted you to call her!"

"She left me, I don't kno' 'hat her deal 'as."

"She came here just before you to drop off your stuff…"

She continued, pulling away.

"Oh really no'? 'As that the plan?"

"There is no plan behind any of this, Cronus. It was just a coincidence."

"Oh, so you're callin' THIS a coincidence?!"

Their bickering continued on like this until Cronus stormed up the stairs in a fit of rage. Miss Christie gave a sigh, as she washed the clothes in Cronus' gym bag suit case.


	5. Chapter 4

The following morning as Cronus was getting ready for school, Miss Christie was watching the kids as they swarmed around him as he walked down the stairs in the morning, asking him questions about Peixes and why he had returned. He looked up at Miss Christie who was smiling at him, and gave her a nervous chuckle.

"Hey hey, guys. I gotta get ready for school! I'll ans'er your questions after'ard, okay?" He told the kids, as they sat back down at the table.

Miss Christie signaled him over to her with that 'come over here' hand motion, and watched as Cronus walked over to her, backpack slinged high onto his shoulder.

"Glad to have you back." She grinned, ruffling her hand through his gelled hair.

As she did so, she could have sworn she felt… Almost like bumps on his head. Two, to be exact. She stopped abruptly, and rubbed the base of one of the bumps, knowing that it certainly was not skin or anything as such, it felt almost like bone. It was hard and firm. Cronus let out a yelp, causing some of the kids to turn around and laugh.

"Did that hurt? I'm sorry!" She said, quickly moving her hand away, and walking him to the door.

" 'Hat 'as that for?" He asked with a sort of impatient tone in his voice.

"Nothing, just go." She said, signaling him out the door.

He looked back at the door, watching Miss Christie walk away slowly and cautiously from it. He turned back around and headed for the bus stop, walking up to Nathan.

"Hey dude! So long since 'e last sa' each other!" He began, smiling broadly.

Nathan laughed and replied, "More like less than twenty four hours ago. Ha ha!"

The bus pulled up at the stop and opened its doors, everyone at the stop flooding into it. Cronus and Nathan walked to the back of the bus, sitting next to Blake. The three of them talked about the weirdest things, which they thought were cool. As they walked into the school, Blake noted out something about Cronus.

"Dude, you know your skin is like, turning into a weird grey sorta color, right?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah right. You're tryin' to scare me no' aren't ya?"

"No, he's serious." Nathan barged in.

Cronus rolled his eyes and continued getting his things from his locker.

"Grey skin, ha! Stupidest thing I ha'e e'er heard!"

Blake and Nathan exchanged nervous looks with each other, as they walked to their first class: P.E. When they arrived, they saw Peixes standing there, acting as if she were the teacher.

"Peixes…?!" Cronus mumbled, running over to the huddle forming around her.

"Hello everyone. I am Miss Peixes, your substitute P.E teacher. Today in class, we will be using the pool for our exercise."

Everyone cheered once they figured out that they were going to swim today, and Cronus was not exactly excited after what happened a few nights ago. The class walked over to the pool, getting in groups of three, Blake, Nathan, and Cronus separated by them. They gave each other hesitated looks and followed the instructions of the teacher.

"Now, Cronus. I would like to use you as a demonstration. Please, come over here." Peixes said, as Cronus slowly crept towards her nervously, afraid of what she might do to him in front of his classmates.

She placed a hand on his shoulder as he approached closer.

"Now, Mister Ampora here is going to demonstrate the routine we will be following. Cronus." She turned to face him, as did the other students.

He gulped loudly and looked down at the water, flashbacks of what happened a few nights ago repeating over and over in his head.

"You… Seriously 'ant me to…. Jump in the 'ater?"

"Why yes, Cronus. That's what I just told you to do."

He didn't remember her saying that.

"O-Okay then."

He took a few steps towards the water, as Peixes snuck up behind him and shoved him into the pool. She bellowed loudly.

"Haha! What a sore loser!"

Cronus struggled under her foot which was keeping him under the water, making him unable to reach back up. He began to hesitate, for he knew he certainly could not breathe underwater, until he felt some strange… tingling sensation, that almost felt ticklish. He began to shake violently, trying to hold his breath and keep himself from laughing from the now growing tingling sensation. Peixes looked down and noticed Cronus twitching and shaking almost seizure-like. She moved her foot away and let Cronus climb out of the pool. He immediately swam to the top, gasping loudly for breath and coughing. Some of his fellow classmates stared at him, as his skin appeared to be greyer than it was earlier, when it was barely noticeable. Peixes threw him a towel and directed everyone else into the pool. She brought him over to the bleachers and sat him down, looking into his eyes.

"Don't act like you don't know what just happened."

He wrapped the towel over him tighter, covering himself entirely.

"'hat? I-I really don't kno' 'hat just happened…"

He managed to say, as Peixes knelt down and shushed him.

"Everything you never knew is going to fly by so fast… So fast that you won't have enough time to remain living the way you are now. I suggest you run off to the ocean, boy. It's your only hope."

Cronus stared at her, eyeing her long poofy black hair.

"Y-Yeah… I think I'll stay at the Orphanage as long as I can."

The bell rang, as everyone climbed out of the pool, dried themselves off, and went back to their normal classes.

"Come on, Cronus!" Nathan and Blake shouted, running out of the room.

Cronus stood up to follow them, but Peixes stopped him.

"No no no. You're not going with them. In fact, you're not going to see them again."

"'Ill you just let me spend my last moments 'ith them?"

"That's not going to be easy." She said in a monotone voice.

"Here, I'm taking you home early, back to the orphanage. I'll discuss this with that Christie chick." She stood up, as Cronus followed her actions out the door.

"Keep warm, I heard tonight was going to get stormy." She shouted as she walked outside, leading Cronus to her car.

He opened the car door and climbed into the back as she drove away, taking him back to the Orphanage.

"You know, you remind me a lot of your father, if I haven't said that enough." She smirked, which gave Cronus the feeling that she was lying.

"Mmm." He said in response, knowing that he most certainly did not have a father, nor did he ever have a family besides Miss Christie, whom he had known his entire life.

When she finally dropped him off at the Orphanage, it had already began to rain. Nothing major, just a light drizzle. She stopped in front of the building, and let Cronus climb out of the car. He went to grab his backpack from the trunk, but Peixes stopped him.

"You ain't gonna be needin' that. All you need now is courage."

She pulled the door shut from the inside, and drove off, leaving Cronus on the sidewalk. He ran to the door and opened it, letting himself in.

"Miss Christie, I'm home early." Cronus shouted, awaiting her response.

"I hear that, Cronus. Do you mind telling me why you're home so early?" She asked him as she walked down the stairs, placing a pile of folded clothes on the table.

She sat down on the chair, as Cronus did the same, except with the seat separating the two of them by the table.

"'Ell… Peixes said she 'as going to tell you, but I'm not too sure she actually 'ill… kno'ing her an' all…"

Miss Christie sighed, and placed a hand on his, smiling at him.

"Don't be so sure about that, Cronus. I'm sure she'll speak up later." She said, as she moved her hand away.

Cronus looked down at his hand, then back up at her.

"No' to just 'ait for tonight. Heard it 'as goin' to storm, is that right?" Cronus asked, changing the topic and walking over to the fridge.

"Yes, that's right. I already have the windows closed and everything."

"Good." He said, not really sure why he said that at first. He grabbed a water bottle and walked up the stairs, plopping himself down on his bed, reviewing over what Peixes had said to him briefly.


	6. Chapter 5

_**Just a quick warning that this is rather bloody, and I would most likely skip over wherever you don't feel uncomfortable with, because this is the chapter that gets things started almost ^^ Thank you!**_

Cronus had fallen asleep on his bed, lying in an awkward position. His eyes forced themselves open, as his eyes darted over towards the alarm clock. Three thirty. He sat up quickly, looking around the dark room. The curtains on his room flowed like ocean waves when the wind blew through, giving Cronus a sort of unease. He slowly stood up, his body in a strange aching pain, almost like… A longing for something, but with a blast of a deep frying ache. It hurt to walk. He placed his hands on the three ropes keeping the curtains in place, and grabbed onto them tightly, shaking in pain. He began to cough and sputter, soon finding himself unable to breathe. He was still inhaling, but he couldn't feel the oxygen enter into his lungs, almost as if they were blocked off. He began to hyperveliate, and he ran out his bedroom door and out the door to the whole vicinity itself, his skin becoming relatively slippery. His feet slipped on the rocks and sidewalk a number of times, but he didn't stop running.

He found himself at the beach, his legs unable to stand any longer. He looked around hesitantly first, making sure no one was around before he would do anything to show how much pain he was in. Thoughts whirred through his mind, mostly about Peixes, mixing in with his past with Miss Christie and the times… The times when he already knew he was different than the others. Tears filled his eyes, as he remembered when he figured out that his blood color was not red, but it was a special violet. Violet is not supposed to be a blood color, he had to tell himself. The tears running down his cheeks were not clear anymore, small dilated drops of violet filled them, almost like food coloring being dropped into a glass of water.

He collapsed to his knees, letting out an ear shattering scream. He held onto the ropes from the curtains, lying them behind him, but still holding onto them with a tight grip. The pain was now everywhere, mostly in the ears, where he would never expect it, both sides of his neck, and both sides of his waist line. His ears almost felt like they were expanding almost, as they turned into large freckled fins. Small traces appeared on his neck and torso, itching in pain. With the ropes he had, he lashed them across his neck, slicing through the skin, gills expanding from them. He felt a bit of strength, and he was able to make his way to the ocean, blood now pouring out of him, as well as dripping down his neck from the gills, as they had nothing to circulate in. His ability to breathe came back slowly, and he was growing dizzy from both the disability to inhale, and the rapid loss of blood.

As he crawled to the water, he pushed himself in, the gills immediately having water circulate through his body. It felt good to breathe again, but the anxiety was still coming, as his violet blood pooled around him, soon making itself visible above the water, almost like a shark attack. The sound of helicopters was faint, but soon became closer and closer, to the point to where they were shining heavy L.E.D lights down at the violet colored water. The itchy sensation on his waist line was unbearable. His fins flared out widely, as the gills on his neck flexuated in and out hesitantly, as he harshly scratched at his waist line with yellow colored claws that were once his fingernails. His scratching was so fierce, it shed off his skin, as more gills exposed themselves to the water.

"Come out of the water! Show yourself!"

A man shouted out of the megaphone from one of the helicopters. Cronus heard them, but he was in too much pain to swim up. He let himself sink, knowing he will be fine, but more blood released from his gills, making more of a commotion with the pool of violet in the ocean. Ladders were let out the sides of the helicopters, as members of the CIA jumped into the water. They grabbed Cronus' arms, seeing fins, gills, and horns on the man. The horns were slowly growing out of his scalp at this point, stopping after they had grown out. They had a slight wave in it, going up, then taking a large slope down, then going back up again, and ending with a sharp point. They took him back up to the helicopters, seeing how strange this sea monster looked like.

News reporters soon broadcasted the scene on television, making its way across the United States.

"We have discovered a strange being in our ocean on the beach in San Francisco. Apparently, there is a sea monster that has been located, and is now being taken to the science labs to be tested. The scene showed here is what was left behind by it. We do not know if this is blood, or if this is a strange sort of ink released by the monster. What we do know is that the sand has been stained with the same substance. The beach is being closed down until further notice. Now, Back to you, Arnold."

The female news reporter on the T.V's said, as people grew more and more suspicious. They helicopters flew to a secret base, readying tests for Cronus. His fins and gills slowly shriveled up, but he soon breathed in through his lungs normally for the time being.


	7. Chapter 6

While in the plane, the officers latched Cronus onto a table tightly, staring at the strange appearance of the thing. Its gills seemed fairly large and wide, along with his ear fins. As they were close to landing point, some of the officers slowly tried to ease him through a sort of acupuncture, sticking needles gently into his now frail skin. They tried to avoid the thin tissue around and of the gills, as well as his ear fins. Slowly and steadily, his muscles relaxed, as a black fluid released from his gills, dripping like thick ink over the table and onto the floor. He was calm, no anxiety or anything, as the thick liquid poured out at a more rapid pace. The officers dipped their fingers into the ooze, and examined it, conferencing over what it was.

"Could it be blood?"

"Black blood? No, remember? The whole puddle thing in the ocean was a sort of bright violet. It seems like… Ink."

"Ink? You mean like how squids and octopi ink?"

"Yeah yeah. Like that. We gotta keep an eye out for it though. Maybe just send him up to space just for the heck of it."

The plane landed, and they unstrapped the inking sea troll from the table, taking him into the facility. A ginormous fish tank had been placed in the research lab, filled to the brim with salt water fresh from the unpolluted parts of the ocean. They slowly dipped him in, watching the remaining ink float around him. He sank down to the very bottom, as the officers and other affiliates left the room. His consciousness slowly returned to him, as he took in a deep amount of water, feeling it stroke over and into his gills lightly. He stood himself up, having to paddle to remain in one position. He placed his hands on the glass, looking at the blurriness of the outside atmosphere. He blinked a few times to straighten out his vision, but it didn't seem to work. Was it the glass? He tapped it a few times, accidentally getting one of the nurses in there's attention. He winced back a bit, staring at the nurse in fear. She gave a sympathetic grin, and continued her work.

He looked at his arms and legs, noticing that his friends really weren't kidding, and neither was Peixes. His skin was entirely grey, and his gills felt almost clogged… His stomach churned as he noticed his slowly pulsing opercula on both sides. Lying as far down as he could in the tank, he closed his eyes, attempting to ease himself from the anxiety of figuring out that he was no longer human, nor was he anywhere near it. More ink trickled out of his gills, making the pulsing and the full feeling vanish. He tried covering his gills, but he flinched at how sensitive they really were. He didn't want to increase the amount of butterflies in his stomach.

The nurses and officers frequently walked by, scanning him in curiosity. He watched them out of the corner of his eye as he tried to fall asleep, soon realizing that his attempt at falling asleep was unsuccessful. The full feeling rushed back almost immediately, making his sides swell even more from before, giving him a sign that he was either stressed or his body was over going some changes on the inside, which released as thick pasty black ink. He let out a sigh, which resulted in an uncountable amount of numbers to make their way to the top of the water.

His muscles became tighter as he tried to keep in the ink, which just made the glands inside him keeping in the ink expand, which didn't feel too comfortable. Large oval bumps formed over his opercula, increasing his pain. He tried to ignore it, but the more he did, the more full he felt. Turning his head around, he attempted to get one of the officer or nurse's attention, but to no avail. He let out a painful groan and slowly curled into a ball, feeling the ink pulse in the expanding glands inside him. It made him feel sick, but he bared through it, taking in more water with every 'breath'. He could feel the thickness of the ink through his skin as he wrapped his arms around his knees, which increased the butterflies in his stomach by a longshot. He clenched his teeth, and attempted to lie down in a straight lined fashion, and felt the ink almost travel through the now trembling glands.

Slowly but steadily, a small amount of ink dared to leak out from his gills on his waist lines, which made Cronus stiffen, trying to keep it all in, but couldn't. The more he kept it in, the more boatloads of ink his body produced. His opercula began to almost swell, making it hard for him to breath, caused by the inflation of his stomach. He let out a forced sigh, and buckled his knees, preparing for the worst. Still, no one came to check on him.

His nervous system kicked in, as he thought about what might be the result of letting out so much ink in this confined tank. The ink in him began to squirt around in his glands, making the situation even more uncomfortable. He closed his eyes for a short while, tensing up his muscles even more, increasing the repeated squirts and splashes. Daringly, he opened his eyes to see one of the officers. _Oh no_ he thought hesitantly, as the officer carefully dropped what looked almost like an alka seltzer tablet, into the water.

He immediately froze, as he felt a wave of lethargy wash over him. It was almost like a blissful dream. The pill that the officer had dropped into the water was intended to make him feel that way. They could tell that he was bloating, and they had decided to do something about it, and forcefully making him doze off was their answer to the problem. He immediately loosened, as the bumps on his opercula faded away as the ink flooded out of him, slowly making its way to the top. It poured out of him for a long while, until the officer jumped into the tank and pressed down forcefully upon his stomach, forcing more of the stored ink out, not wanting to cause any inflation of the fish parts.

The officer pushed down in a slow and steady pace, slowly shoving a connected tube from the outside from a medicine-giving machine, deep into his gills, one on each side. The officer grabbed two more and gently pushed their way into the gills on his neck, watching as the opercula over them slowly flexuated around it. The officer swam back to the top and turned on the machine, having the medicine flowing into Cronus' gills at once. Soon, the lady walked out of the room, shutting off the lights before secretly increasing the water pressure in the tank from normal to overload. She grinned as she did this, as the water grew relatively dense and more pressurized (by a ton), a shield closing over the top, almost like a lid. Cronus was out like a light, and while he was asleep, he was growing in size and length, adapting to the new pressurized circumstances.


	8. Chapter 7

The following morning, the nurses and other officers filed into the room, noticing the strange darkness in the tank.

"Everyone, look! The stat circle thing is not on its normal amount!"

One of the nurses pointed out, as the lead officer pushed the lass out of the way.

"Let me see!" He shouted, feeling around the knob to try and point out the fingerprints left behind from the person who last messed with it.

"There's a cover over the entire tank. We can't see what's inside. This could get pretty nasty, mind you. I would close your eyes if I were all y'all."

The commander said, as the lead officer stood in front of the crowd to prevent them from coming any closer. On Cronus' side, he was in massive pain, as he continued to grow in length and size, but also festivity. He looked more like a monster than a sea troll. His skin was nowhere close to grey; in fact, it was a deep violet, along with freckle-like skin marks. His fins were flared out widely, flapping themselves gracefully through the water while he was still in a calm state, ready to lash out at anyone, not knowing exactly what the cause of the lashing out would be because of. The metal walls shrouding in and out of the tank slowly vanished, making their way up into a secret compartment over the rims, exposing Cronus to the nurses and officers. As soon as the lead officer looked behind him, he stared in shock, and quickly directed the rest of the facility workers out of the room, only leaving the commander to talk with Cronus. Water began flowing out of the tank because of the massive size of what was once an innocent sea troll. The commander slowly climbed up the ladder and into the tank, making Cronus furious. He snarled at the commander, as his gills, along with his fins, flared out threateningly. The man stared aghastly, and swam slowly over to him, noticing how massive he was in size, about 15 feet in length. He placed what seemed like his microscopic hand on Cronus' chest, and felt not one, but three heart beats, growing _faster _at a quickening rate.

"Hey hey, buddy. It's all good. Someone just messed with the thermostat thing on the side of the tank. You're going to be okay."

The commander spoke up, trying to calm the monster down. Cronus' fins gave a little twitch, and he was still, not quite comprehending what the commander meant over his bubbling anger.

"Here, I'll take you back to the ocean, and you won't have to deal with any of our shenanigans. Sound like a deal?"

Cronus gave a stressed growl in response, attempting to stand up and walk over to him. The commander slowly started to take steps back, and pressed a small button on his jacket. The walls above the tank slowly opened, as helicopters like earlier hovered above the tank. They sent down crane-like grabbers to grab on to the sides of the tank, and slowly lifted it up, flying it over to the ocean. The commander quickly swam to the top, leaving an incognito bomb behind in the tank to set Cronus off. When he finally reached the helicopter, they were already hovering above the ocean. The grabbers let go of the tank and let it plummet down. Shortly on the way down, the bomb went off, making the entire tank explode, sending Cronus flying down. He landed in the water with a thunderous splash, the water not even returning back down for another fifteen long seconds. Now, Cronus was outraged. Everything revolved around his own anger that he had no clue he even had. The real salt from the ocean swarming around his body made his size increase even more, including the width and depth of his gills on both his neck and waist line. Every one of the nurses and officers stood their ground and waited for Cronus to rise from the water, but didn't get their wish. They had assumed Cronus had died along with the explosion, and began to walk off.

The commander smirked, and snapped his fingers, walking away with the crowd, until two overly large waved horns emerged from the water, with Cronus following. He was roughly seventy feet tall, the scar over his left eye now scarred because of the flying glass from the explosion. It gave it a more newer look, almost intimidating. He let out a monstrous howl, exposing what looked like razor sharp shark canines. The commander looked up at him, and yelled,

"Aim!"

The officers did what they were told, and stared up at the creature standing in front of him. Cronus watched them as they aimed their puny weapons at him, and hissed loudly in monotone, as if to sound threatening, yet powerful with the deepness of his voice. A young lady came running into the scene, with young children surrounding her, Ramona at the lady's side. It was Miss Christie.

"Stop! Lower your weapons!" She commanded, as tears filled her eyes.

Ramona stared up at Cronus in utter shock, pulling her hair back behind her ear.

"Young lady, get away! It isn't safe for you and your orphaned children to be here!"

"Charlie, we want to help! I, and we, know him. Know him well enough he would never have had to deal with this if it wasn't for you!"

The commander slowly gripped onto the pistol placed on his side, and asked one more time.

"Leave, Christie. If you know what's best for you. FIRE!"

He pulled the pistol out of the sheathe and was about to fire it, before Miss Christie smacked it out of his hands. She jumped, and so did the children, as the miscellaneous other guns shot towards Cronus. Cronus quickly sank down in the water, dodging every bullet.

"NO! STOP THIS, CHARLIE!" She howled, shoving him harshly and accidentally into the sea.

A large hand slowly approached where the commander had landed, and grabbed onto him, as if he were nothing but a thin French fry. Cronus emerged from the water, staring down at everyone below him, recognizing Miss Christie and the children, including Ramona. Miss Christie didn't say a word, as Cronus slowly brought the commander to his lips, biting him in half in one bite, watching Miss Christie in an emotion of nervousness. Her eyes widened as the blood of the commander slowly trickled down the side of his lip, as Cronus finished him off. He tried to lower himself down to be face to face with Miss Christie, as the kids huddled behind her, with Ramona still remaining brave and staying by Miss Christie's side.

"Cronus… I know that's you. I just… I can't believe they would do something so… Damaging to your figure! Just remember, Cronus. … I will love you no matter what you are."

She took a few steps towards him, as a wave of water washed over Cronus, reimaging his figure back to his normal size and back onto land.

"Miss Christie, you don't have to do this…" He said, looking down.

"You said the letter V. That's good." She grinned, bringing him into a tight embrace

. He lied his head down on her shoulder as she listened to the waves and splashes from the water.

"You looked quite intimidating a few minutes ago… At least it didn't last long."

He nodded slowly in response.

"I'm afraid you can't come back to the Orphanage."

He froze. "W-Why not?"

"Peixes is taking you back, along with her daughter, Meenah, I believe. And besides, I don't think the government would want me to have a sea troll living under my care." She forced out a grin, and pulled away from the embrace, as Peixes and what looked like her daughter drove on a boat to the scene.

"Come on, Ampora. We got places to go, people to see!" She shouted, as Cronus took a few steps towards the boat.

"Don't forget me, Cronus. Because I never will."

The both of them smiled, as Meenah twirled her long braided hair with her fingers, waiting impatiently. He approached the boat, and slowly climbed in, as Peixes started up the engine.

"See yah!" She yelled to Miss Christie, giving her the peace sign, and driving off.

"She seems like an idiot." Ramona spoke up, making Miss Christie chuckle.

"Now, now. That's not very nice. Come along now, children. We better head back."

She turned around and began to walk back, hearing Cronus' voice inside her head, making her eyes fill with tears. She stood strong, and guided her children home, like a proud mother she was.


End file.
